Native speech perception in the context of multilingualism and language learning

The goal of this Special Issue is to bring together current state-of-the-art research examining the effects of additional language or language variety acquisition and use on native language (i.e., first-acquired language) speech perception, including but not limited to the identification of native sound categories, discrimination of native contrasts, and cue weighting in the perception of native sound distinctions. Previous research has provided a solid body of work on the effects of second language (L2) learning and multilingualism on first language (L1) speech production (Chang 2012, Colantoni et al. 2020, Cook 2003, de Leeuw and Celata 2019, de Leeuw et al. 2010, de Leeuw et al. 2013, Flege 1987, Harada 2003, Kartushina and Martin 2019, Kartushina et al. 2016, Law et al. 2019, Mayr et al. 2021, Mennen 2004, Nodari et al. 2019, Sancier 1997, and Schmid et al. 2004, among others). The results have indicated that bi-/multilinguals’ native sound production often differs from monolingual norms, frequently demonstrating partial convergence with, and at times divergence from, the comparable sound categories in the additional language(s) spoken by the individuals. These effects have been found for early and late bilinguals, advanced and novice learners, and immersed and home-country-based learners. In this issue, we focus on equivalent effects, but in the perceptual domain. Initial evidence suggests that multilingual listeners exhibit language-specific patterns in perception, or “language modes” (Antoniou et al. 2012, Gonzales and Lotto 2013, Grosjean 2001). Moreover, first language speech perception can diverge from the monolingual norms due to the effects of additional languages (Chang 2016, Celata and Cancila 2010, Dmitrieva et al. 2020, Dmitrieva 2019, Garcia-Sierra et al. 2009, Law et al. 2019, Llanos et al. 2013). Nevertheless, much remains to be learned about native speech perception in the context of multilingualism, including the following questions: Who is likely to exhibit second/additional language effects on native speech perception? In what context/conditions of language acquisition are such effects more likely to arise? What perceptual domains or perceptual tasks tend to reveal interference from additional languages or language varieties? How do changes in L1 perception and production, driven by the acquisition and/or use of additional languages, connect and interact with each other? What theoretical and cognitive models can explain L2 effects on L1 perception?